The PS5 looks to be packing an SSD and will support ray tracing

The PlayStation 5 is shaping up to be an incredibly powerful console the likes of which we have never seen before.

Sony’s next-generation console, likely to be named the PlayStation 5, is far from gracing store shelves, but the company has revealed a few of its specs to give fans a taste of just how powerful it will be. We’re hoping to learn more as we head deeper into 2020, but for now, the presumed PS5 is looking like quite the machine, in comparison to both the current crop of consoles and the next generation Xbox also in the works right now.

PS5 specs & how does it compare to the PS4 Pro?

It should go without saying, but the PS5 will be drastically more powerful than any model in the PS4 family, including the PS4 Pro.

What GPU and CPU will it have?

As stated above, it will feature a custom GPU based on the Radeon Navi and a CPU based on AMD’s third-generation Ryzen line, with 8-cores of the new 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture. According to Mark Cerny, the GPU will also support hardware-based ray tracing, which is a visual technique that models how light interacts with 3D environments. Usually only big budget Hollywood movies have the technology and money to utilize such technology, and it’s not found in any current video game console.

What resolution and frame rates will it support?

Sony looks to be future-proofing the PS5 as it will be able to support up to 8K resolution. While most televisions on the market don’t support such resolutions and 4K is still being widely adopted, this should increase the upcoming console’s longevity as 8K starts to pop up more frequently, even if it takes several years to do so.

As for frame rates, we know it will support up to 120FPS in games but it’s safe to assume that 60FPS will be more commonly seen, with some games possibly reaching 120FPS.

What kind of storage will it have?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Instead of coming with an internal HDD, the PS5 will sport an internal SSD. Though players can already hook up an SSD to their PS4, it’s something that they need to buy separately and install themselves. What’s the difference between an HDD and SSD, though?

SSDs and HDDs are hardware components that deal with storage. The biggest difference between them is that an SSD has no moving parts and data is stored on flash-memory chips. HDDs use moving mechanical parts to read/write information, thus making the process slower than that of an SSD. This is why games like Anthem run better while playing on an SSD.

What kind of optical drive will it have?

The PS5 includes a 4K Blu-ray drive. Physical versions of PS5 games will be shipped on 100GB Blu-ray discs, which can be read by the 4K Blu-ray drive. This drive will also be able to play 4K Blu-ray movies.

What about everything else?

We also know that the DualSense controller will support USB-C charging. This controller has several other improvements, like haptic feedback in the sticks and triggers.

That’s all that Sony has officially revealed so far. Much of its specs are still in the dark, so we’ll need to wait until further information is provided. Until then, have fun speculating.